


Short Stories of the Lost Light Pod

by PolkaDot_BowTie



Series: Merformers AU [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Briefcase, Cheesy Halloween Music, Dreams, F/F, F/M, Female!Tailgate, General Randomness that comes to mind, Halloween Boat rides, Human!Velocity, I'll add more characters as and when they turn up, I'll update when more ideas turn up, M/M, Merformers AU, Velocity and Nautica are still girls, female!whirl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2020-11-25 23:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20920496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolkaDot_BowTie/pseuds/PolkaDot_BowTie
Summary: Just a load of short stories that may have 1, 2 or 3 parts, depending on the story line. General randomness that I thought the crew would get up too if they were Merpeople. All designs are based off Uniformshark on Tumblr and Buligete for a few others.Every chapter is a new story! Hope you enjoy!The first chapter, we meet First Aid!





	1. Lost Light Pod vs. Old Fishing net

It was a nice, calm day swimming through the soft currents that made up the West side of Lost Light Territory. Ultra Magnus was gliding through the water, performing his usual patrols, his large blue tail wafting in the vast expanse. The Mer, however, knew better than to trust the illusion of calming serenity that the water radiated. He pushed on, forcing himself to complete his morning rounds.  
Magnus pushed himself upwards, piercing the surface of the ocean, glancing out into the distance. He glowered at the horizon, as if daring it to reveal a new threat or potential danger to his pod. None were revealed. Releasing a short sigh, he ducked below into the water again and turned towards the feeding grounds. That's where he'd find the others, not to indulge, but to keep an eye on his pod of trouble-makers. As Magnus neared the feeding grounds, the distant sounds of feared chirps and squeals came into earshot. He lunged closer to the distressed Mer sounds, fins extending defensively to scare off any threat that was harming his pod. When he reached the feeding grounds, the distressed squeals and clicks were very audible. Magnus turned the last corner and was met with a surprising sight. Nothing was attacking his pod, nothing sentient anyway. One of the smaller Mers was tangled in an old fishing net - an old one by the looks of the mangled, seaweed plagued strands of fibre - and was clearly scared. It was the colour scheme of white, teal and black that revealed the identity of the Mer. This was Tailgate. She was squealing and screaming and wriggling on the seabed, trying fruitlessly to rip the blasted net from her body. Magnus sighed again, his defensive position deflating with exasperation.

"Mags!" Rodimus cheerful voice came from beside him. "Good! You're here!"

"What happened?" Magnus asked.

_Or shouldn't I ask? _He added in his head.

"We were scavenging for crabs and scallops on the sea bed when Swerve came across this net! It looked cool and we wanted to get a closer look. Long story short: the net was thrown onto Tailgate and now we can't get it off her." Rodimus gestured towards the Mer, who had now ceased her squirming. Now that Magnus was looking, he could see the small audience that had gathered to watch the show. A deep blue Mer that had the decorative fins similar to a barracuda designated Skids, a purple female named Nautica and Tailgate's mate Cyclonus. Skids and Nautica looked both equal parts concerned and amused, hanging back slightly. Cyclonus, on the other hand, looked about ready to cry, trying desperately to calm down his frantic mate. Magnus brought up a large white hand and ran it down his face. Never a dull moment with this pod. He edged himself closer to the squirming beluga female and started to coo calmingly.

"Tailgate?" he began, holding his large hands up in peace, "I need to get closer to get the net off, can you stop moving for me?"

"I'M BEING ATTACKED!!"

"No you're not! You're safe, with the pod. You know who I am, I'm going to take the net off, just stay still."

"Okay, okay. Stay still, I can do that. I can do that, can't Cyclonus?"

Magnus moved his attention over to Cyclonus, who had now given up on helping. He Sat on the seabed, chewing his fingertips. He nodded, probably for his own benefit than his mate's. Magnus had finally reached Tailgate, taking a loose end and untangling it from the Mers delicate fins.

"Oi, look! Panic button's gonna be food for the two-leggers!"

That did it. Tailgate _screamed_ and began to wriggle and move again, this time more frantic and worried than before. She was in a panic. Tailgate squealed and wriggled, prompting Magnus to lose his hold on the piece of rope he was holding. It swished and swirled and swirled in the water, whipping Magnus in the eye. He hissed in pain and held where it hit him.

"Mags! Are you okay?" Rodimus asked. The larger Met hummed in affirmative and gazed around as his impaired vision corrected itself. Wait, who said that? Magnus glanced around to find who said the comment that prompted Tailgate's outburst, when a murky blue shape came into view. He knew instantly who it was.

Whirl. **_Whirl. _**It's always Whirl. 

"Whirl! STOP!!" Magnus bellowed, springing from where he sat on the seabed. 

"Make me!" Came the cocky female's response. Magnusgrowled and clenched his fists in rage when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked down and saw Rodimus smiling up at him. Rodimus winked and swam off towards the female, closely followed by Cyclonus who was practically _steaming_ with anger. Magnus sighed in exhaustion and redirected his attention back to the wriggling, squealing beluga Mer that was tangling herself in the net more. 

Magnus tried and tried to pull the net from Tailgate's body but it was hopeless. That net was **not** budging. He put his hand on his hip and rubbed his chin in thought. 

He'd need to find a way to cut the rope off Tailgate without hurting her. Crab claws, maybe? Where would he get a hold of crab claws? Ratchet! Ratchet has crab claws! The Mer, as the pod medic, has access to multiple potential dangerous instruments for him to use on the theatre table, perfect for this. Magnus swam to Nautica and pulled her aside," "Nautica, I'm going to find Ratchet to see if he can assist with our.. current situation." He trailed off, sparing a glance at Tailgate who was still squirming in the sand. "Can you keep Tailgate quiet and still until I return?" Once Nautica nodded, he responded with a curt nod of his own and began his journey North, the gentle flow carrying him towards the Medic Mer's healing cave.

* * *

When Magnus reached Ratchet's cave, the smell of fresh medical supplies filled his nostrils. He swam through the gaping mouth of the cave and towards the inner darkness. 

"Ratchet?" He called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to stretch how far it would reach. Ratchet didn't respond, only the cave's mocking echo in return. Magnus huffed. "Ratchet? I need some crab claws!" He called out again, some small, juvenile glisten of hope rising in his stomach. Turning around, he was about to leave when he heard a small clattering from further in the cave. His head snapped back, shoulders tensing in defence. 

"Whose there?" He called. 

_Peep!_

Swam further into the cave, expecting a group of small fish or crabs to come scurrying out towards him in a panic, but it never came. Instead, he was met with a blur of red and white scales to come barrelling towards him. It happened too fast, startling the big, blue Mer. He caught the bundle and held it at arm's length, trying to get a good glimpse of it, a futile attempt in the dark. He hummed, shifting so the bundle was resting comfortably under his arm as he swam out of the cave. With the sunlight warming his brightly coloured hide once again, Magnus took a look at the bundle under his arm. 

_Peep~_

This was unexpected. A red and white pup white wide blue eyes gazed back up at him in wonder. What surprised Magnus even more was the fact that this little Mer pup was holding the crab claws he'd requested earlier. 

"Huh, well then little one, what's your name?"

_Peep~!_

Magnus allowed a small smile to grace his features as he took the claws from the sweet pup. It clenched it's fists and bundled them into it's armpits for warmth. He hummed and started to swim back to where Tailgate was tangled in the old fishnet.

* * *

When Ultra Magnus reached the reef where Tailgate was stuck, she had gathered a larger crowd, of which was Ratchet hovering nearby. Magnus swam closer to Ratchet, tapping the medic Mer on the shoulder. When Ratchet turned around, Magnus gave him a faint smile, handing him the small pup still under his arm and pushing towards Tailgate, who was still squirming on the floor. 

"Tailgate, hold still." He ordered, snipping the claws in emphasis. The white and teal Mer whimpered, but held still regardless. 

He took the thin strands of the net between his webbed fingers and serrated the threads with the sharp edges of the claws. A couple more cuts later, and Tailgate was free. She rose from the seabed with newfound grace and swam straight into Cyclonus' embrace, the tiger shark Mer hugging her tightly. 

"Uhh... Magnus?" Ratchet's voice made the large Whale Mer turn around. 

"Yes?"

"Who is this?" Ratchet asked, holding the pup out at arms length.

"I thought he was yours, I found him in your medical cave. Is he not?"

"No, little guy's cute, though." Ratchet said, pulling the pup closer and teasing it by dangling his finger over it's face. The pup made several attempts to grab Ratchet's finger, each time to no avail. 

"Do you have any parents lil' guy?" The pup shook it's little head, staring at the two Mers with wide, sparkling eyes. "Do you have a name?"

The Mer pup nodded frantically, then smiled at Ratchet.

"What is it?"

"Firth Ai'" The pup called.

"First Aid?" The Mer pup nodded again. "It suits you." Ratchet smiled. 

"Are you going to keep him?" Magnus interrupted. Ratchet hesitated, then nodded.

"Yes, I think so. I could do with some company."

Magnus smiled.

"Besides, I need an heir."


	2. Waterbottle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whirl finds a water bottle and disturbs the pod with it just as everyone is settling down for bed.
> 
> The credit for this idea goes to Charivari from their 'Mer One-shots', you should go read it, it's really great.

Whirl was scavenging through the sand on the seabed. Her latest mischief had been swiftly resolved by Magnus and Ratchet, taking away her fun by helping Tailgate out of an old fishing net. Humph, **buzzkills. **She was filtering her webbed fingers through the sand grains when an item of strange texture hit her fingertips. It was thin yet strong, smooth but dirty, and it made an ungodly _crackle_ when she fastened her hand around it's width. 

'_Ah-hah!'_ ,Whirl thought to herself, '_I may have just found my new mischief-maker!'_

* * *

Rodimus was swimming towards his coral shelf he shared with Magnus and Drift. Depending on the pod and where they live will depend on how they sleep, hunting patterns, etc. Rodimus doesn't know how the other pods in the area work but the Lost Light pod sleep on the sturdy coral shelves that are fused with the rocks against the colourful reef they live and hunt in. Once Rodimus reached the coral shelf, he saw Magnus and Drift already lying down. Ultra Magnus was grooming Drift, who had his eyes closed. Magnus was obviously a little too busy grooming Drift to notice when Rodimus swam up to the shelf's level, but Drift wasn't.

"Rodimus!" Drift called, happy to see him, "It's about time you showed up! Where have you been all day?" Magnus turned to look at Rodimus, the large Mer deadpanning as usual.

"Sorry, Perceptor wanted me for something. Budge up, I can't let you have all the attention." Rodimus said, nudging Drift to the side a little, draping his tail over Drift to allow Magnus more room. Magnus simply rolled his eyes in exasperation before licking the spines that ribbed Rodimus' fins. Rodimus gave a hum of contentment, intertwining with Drift as they began to fall to sleep. 

Once the younger ones were both asleep, Magnus checked the other coral shelves from where he was layed. Everyone was asleep. He checked the surface. No ships that could be seen. He gave a small sigh, then rested his chin against Drift's tail. He allowed himself to drift off, slowly, sub coming to the realm of dreams...

** _Crackle crackle_ **

What in God's name?!

** _Crackle crackle crackle_ **

What is that awful sound? His head whipped around the area, electric blue eyes piercing the vast expanse of dark blue. His eyes bore onto the perpetrator; Whirl. Why is he not surprised? The nasty crackling seemed to have awaken most of the pod. Pups were crying, the fish that swam peacefully around the sleeping area had scattered, and the pod in general seemed agitated. Drift had snapped awake during the palaver but Rodimus remained sound asleep, nose twitching peacefully in his slumber.

Drift turned his head; their eyes met. Together, they sprang from the shelf faster than a torpedo, aiming for Whirl and her torture device.

The dark blue femme was lying innocently on the sand, biting the clear, oblong item in her jaws. 

"SHUT THE HECK UP, WHIRL!!" came a voice from a shelf above them.

"YEAH, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" came another. 

"Oh, booger off! I'm not even doing anything wrong! You all chew loudly and you don't hear me having a go!" She responded, mockery and spite lacing her voice. 

"Whirl..." Magnus growled, fins pinned back. "Please cease biting that human item, you don't know where it's been or what germs it contains." He reasoned.

"Mmmhmm, yeah, well, how about no?" She said. "You seem tired, I'm not trying to make you miss out on your beauty rest." She gave a small giggle. 

* * *

"I'm not trying to make you miss out on your beauty rest." 

Drift noticed the way that Mags' body tensed a little at that statement, he saw that Magnus was fighting the urge to yawn. 

Whirl continued her incessant chewing.

_**Crackle crackle crackle crackle crackle**_

Whirl's chewing was becoming slightly more violent now. 

** _Crackle crackle crackle-crack-crackle_ **

The blue Mer gave one more unsettling laugh before proceeding. After Whirl pointed it out, Drift finally noticed the wrinkles in the skin around Magnus' eyes. The big guy probably hadn't had a goodnight's rest in a long time. 

_ **Crackle crackle crackle- POP!** _

"Awww noo!!" Whirl whined, "My human thingy!! It's broken!"

The cheers and clicks in triumph that followed that statement were deafening, and quite amusing. Whirl hissed, snarled and then advanced to her coral shelf to sleep. Drift felt his face widen in a smile as he turned to look at Magnus, who was drooping in exhaustion. Putting his hand on Magnus' arm, Drift squeezed the flesh reassuringly. The smile Mags gave him in response made Drift warm on the inside. He and Magnus turned around and swam back to their coral shelf, settling around Rodimus once again. The fiery coloured Mer stirred a bit, rubbing his eyes before looking at them.

"Where have you been?" He asked drowsily, "Was it Whirl?"

Magnus and Drift gave a hearty laugh at that question before drifting into sleep with the promise of explanation in the morning.


	3. ☆~Halloween Special~☆

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pod notices a new boat within their territory and go in closer to see who is on board. Turns out, the humans on board are families who wanted to see the Mers for Halloween.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everyone!

Boats didn't generally sail into the Lost Light Pod's territory, but when they did, the pod's guardians (both land and water) would have a whole interrogation behind them to question why they were in the protected waters. When Perceptor, Magnus and Rodimus would go and view the boat to determine whether it may pose a threat to the pod, Drift would stay with the Pod to keep everyone calm and help everyone hide if the worst should happen. Today though, instead of lost fishermen or a small crew that are training to be apart of the coastguard, when the three Mers broke the surface of the salty water, they were met with the overwhelming smell of plastic, sickening perfume and sweet treats of cocoa, wafer and caramel. 

"Ugh!" Rodimus grimaced, "What's that awful smell?!"

"As repulsive as it is, Rodimus, and I have nothing against you voicing your displeasure, will you please be quiet! We don't want the humans to know that we're here!" Perceptor scolded. 

Even though the humans know that Mers exist, they don't often go to the surface to say hello in fear of being spotted by poachers or finners that could hurt them, Mer could fetch quite a pretty penny on the black market. 

The trio had surfaced about 4 metres away from the boat's hull. Together they swam closer to the boat, the goal to find out who was on board and what business they had in the Pod's territory. Rodimus circled the left side, Magnus circled the right and Perceptor watched the Starboard. Perceptor reared back a bit when human words caught his eye. He knew from experience that humans liked to write the name of the boat on the front in pretty colours and swirly writing and commonly referred to the vehicle using pronouns for females such as: she/her. He didn't know why they did this, it seemed illogical to refer to an inanimate object as a 'she'. 

He swam closer to the words. Being an intellectual, he could read the human's main language on this side of the globe.

It started with a large "V" in bold, cursive letter font. Ended in a similarly bold and cursive "S", whereas the other letters were slightly shorter in stature. 

"_Vis Vitalis_" it read. 

Then, "_Mer sighting adventures for the entire family_."

Hmmm.

"Magnus!" Perceptor whisper-shouted, "Magnus!"

He finally caught the large Mer's attention, gesturing for him to come over. The large Mer forced himself forwards with the large blue and white fins at his sides. When Perceptor pointed to the ship's name and it's campaign slogan, Magnus nodded and swam around, most likely to continue the mini-recon mission they had orchestrated. 

"Ugh.." Rodimus. Perceptor followed the sound to find Rodimus with his upper body out of the water, chin resting on the deck, looking at the people on board.

"What is it?" Perceptor inquired, copying the action to peer at the crew on board. There were rows of people in purple, orange and black clothes, pointy hats and ridiculous face paint. He snickered. They all seemed to be watching something. Following their gaze, his eyes settled on a tall man with dark blue hair. He wore a headband with wings attached to the side of his head. He was wearing a long white, yellow and red coat with a dark blue eagle on the front. He bore a dazzling smile and held a thick hammer high in his strong hands. 

"Welcome to the Vis Vitalis' Mer sightings Halloween Adventure!" He boomed, prompting the crowd to cheer. "Thank you for joining me, Thunderclash, and my first mate, Velocity, on our first Mer adventure. Are you ready to see some Mers?!" Another round of clapping and cheers.

A woman with pointy, turquoise hair came out of the cabin with two bowls. One full of sweets and candy that she offered to the humans, and then one full of pink salmon that she poured off the side. 

Now that he was looking, Perceptor noticed that the human that was sat in a seat in front of them had a smaller human sat on it's lap. The smaller human had noticed them, pointing at them and giggling sweetly; the larger human seemed to take no attention to the small one, just toying with it's hands, patting it's head and trying to redirect it's attention to the yellow toy in it's grasp. 

Rodimus nudged his arm with his elbow, nodding to something on the opposite side of the small boat. Magnus. He was doing the exact same thing, except a larger human seemed to have noticed his presence. Loudly. Magnus hadn't noticed their realisation of him being there, but when the human started to scream and attracted the attention of all the other humans on the boat, he noticed. Thunderclash raced from his position, grabbing a fish from Velocity's bowl and kneeling in front of Magnus. 

"Hello there, big guy.." Thunderclash started, "You hungry?" The large blue Mer sniffed the fish before taking it, biting into it's side, pulling the flesh loose and swallowing. The human that originally noticed- a female, Perceptor noted- was still screaming. 

"EWW!! GET IT AWAY, GET IT AWAY!!!! I THINK IT TOUCHED ME, DID IT TOUCH ME??! I THINK IT TOUCHED ME, GET IT AWAY!!!" She screamed. The whale Mer seemed to take no mind of her though when he reached up and pulled Thunderclash over the rail after finishing the fish offered. 

"Gah!"

"Thunderclash!!" Velocity called.

Perceptor felt Rodimus tense next to him. Together, they dove under the surface again, joining Ultra Magnus on the other side of the boat. When Perceptor and Rodimus reached the large Mer and tall and muscular human, they were... hugging?

Ultra Magnus appeared to be grooming the human, making him laugh. Velocity and her passengers were at the rails, both relieved Thunderclash was in no threat in custody with the Mers but concerned for his well-being in the cold water at the same time.

Perceptor turned around to look at Rodimus when the flame coloured Mer huffed indignantly, almost jealous, Perceptor guessed by the way he folded his arms and his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"I appreciate the thought, my aquatic friend, but I need to get back on my boat to take my passengers home." Thunderclash said, patting the blue Mer's arms in a plea for release. Magnus nodded, visibly loosened his grip and pushed the human up to the railing. 

Velocity had obviously rushed away during the fiasco to get a towel, but had returned now. She helped Thunderclash over the railing and wrapped the fluffy towel around his shoulders as she pushed him onto the seat by her side. Thunderclash was obviously as stubborn as he was _beautiful, _because he stood right back up and looked over the rail. His face brightened at the Mers again and he raised his hand and waved.

"Goodbye my finned friends! Until we meet again!" He waved, smile dazzling and sparkling like stars. Perceptor and Magnus clicked and squealed as a goodbye before diving, however, Perceptor noticed that Rodimus gave a low hiss before diving with them. 

"What was that?" Perceptor asked Rodimus.

"He was too nice looking, stealing my thunder." Rodimus snorted before latching onto Magnus' dorsal fin and hitching a ride back to the pod.

* * *


	4. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Mers have dreams, some can't help but tell their partners...

"Maagnusss," Rodimus whispered whilst pawing at his face, "Maaaaggggnuuusss."

Magnus groaned as he slowly came to. He rolled over, desperate for a little more sleep. "Wha' 's it?" He grumbled.

"I had a dream!" He exclaimed, quietly. Magnus rolled over again with a huff. 

"That's nice," He yawned, pulling a hand heavy with sleep over and pulling Rodimus closer. "Now, shhhh, I wanna sleep." He still hadn't opened his eyes. 

"It was about us. I was as awesome as usual, and I was the leader of this team. It was of me, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Skids, Swerve, Nautica, Brainstorm and you. We called it the Rod Squad." 

"That's nice. *Yawn*. Can we go to sleep now?" Magnus yawned. 

"What kind of question is that!? No, we can't go to sleep now! I need to assemble the Rod Squad! Wait.. what are you doing? Magnus no-!" Rodimus was cut off when Magnus wrapped his large arms around him and his mouth, stopping him from continuing his small rant. 

"Shut. Up. I wanna sleeeeppp." Magnus groaned. "Now shhhuushh." 

Rodimus just rolled his eyes, snuggled into the larger Mer's chest and told Magnus:

"I'm still gonna form the Rod Squad in the morning."

"Yeah whatever, just be quiet so I can sleeepp."


	5. Brainstorm's shellcase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brainstorm is a strange Mer, but when he turns up one day at the feeding grounds with a large shell briefcase and refuses to tell anyone what's inside, everybody is desperate to find out what's in it.

Swerve was chatting with Skids at the feeding grounds. The small white and red Mer was sat on the coral wall whilst the blue barracuda Mer was hovering in front of him. 

"So anyway, I tell Whirl to get out because there is no way I'm serving her drinks with a freaking _eel under her arm! _So then she gets mad and--" Swerve trailed off when he saw someone enter the makeshift bar. 

The light blue eel Mer swam in. This wasn't an odd sight, Brainstorm was one of the regulars, but it was what was under his arm that caught the bar Mer's attention. It was a large, thin clam shell with a clasp at the top, attached to Brainstorm's wrist by a thick strand of kelp. 

"Brainstorm!" Swerve called. "Come over here!"

The blue eel Mer swam over, looking rather pleased with himself.

"What can I getcha?" Swerve asked.

"Oh, nothing for me thanks. I'm meeting up with Percy."

"OOoooOOo, very nice."

"Hey Brainstorm," Skids interjected. "What's inside the briefcase?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"It's a surprise!"

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said, nobody is allowed to know, sorry."

At that moment, Perceptor swam in. The eel Mer noticed, to Skids and Swerve's annoyance.

"Oh! There's Percy! I'll see you two later." Brainstorm waved them off, keeping his briefcase close to his side as he joined the red and black Mer by the entrance. 

"Humph, shame. Wonder what's inside." Skids said, chewing the fish Swerve slipped him during their conversation with Brainstorm. 

"Don't know, but knowing Brainstorm, it'll be something absolutely incredible," Swerve emphasised the last part, "You'll see, I'll get into Brainstorm's briefcase one day, even if it's the last thing I do."

And with that, the day continued as usual.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! ☆ヽ(*´▽｀*)


End file.
